There are a large number of types of non electronic, handheld devices for marking or writing with ink, dye, pigment or paint, etc. Such devices include pencils, ballpoint pens, fountain pens, felt tip pens, capillary tube pens and others. There are also a large number of non electronic devices for dispensing various other viscous and non viscous liquid products including but not limited to oil, grease and insect repellant and others. One common type of marking device has been the ubiquitous “felt tip marking pen”. While the tips of pens used to be made of felt, today they are usually made from an acrylic material, a polyester fiber or other suitable material. Marking pens have a barrel or reservoir for holding a quantity of ink. The ink may be water based; alcohol based or made using any number of other types of solvents. The barrel typically has a flat bottom or base so that the pen may stand. Opposite the base is a shoulder that tapers to a neck. In an opening in the neck there is a felt tip for writing. The porous tip or nib has one end which is used to write with while the other end is in contact with the ink supply. Capillary action permits the ink to flow from the reservoir to the writing end of the tip. One type of marker has one end of the writing nib directly in contact with the ink reservoir. As the pen is used, ink flows by gravity down the barrel to the end of the tip. The ink flows through the tip or nib to the writing surface. In another type of marking pen the end of the tip opposite the writing surface does not contact the reservoir directly. In order for ink to contact the tip, the tip must be pushed towards the reservoir which causes ink to flow from the reservoir to the tip thereby providing the tip with a quantity of ink for use. When the tip is released a spring forces the tip outwardly of the container and closes off the ink passageway from the reservoir to the tip. Examples of prior art marking pens of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,820, U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,2252, U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,947 to Kremer et. al. The disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. These patents relate to devices which use a valve to dispense a liquid or a powered solid to a brush or hard tip.
Many conventional markers have an embodiment where a fiber tip or other similar applicator of writing liquid is directly connected with a liquid supply container. In some variations of this embodiment the applicator becomes moisturized and is able to apply writing liquid to a writing surface as long as one end of an applicator communicates with writing liquid. Usually it occurs when a writing device is positioned with the tip downwardly such as contacting a writing surface. Because a porous material is used for manufacturing of applicators of markers, a writing liquid is consumed not only through the application of such liquid to a writing surface but also through vaporization of such liquid from the surface of writing applicator that remains exposed to the air during a process of writing or when marker is not in use but remain uncapped. Usually, when marker is not in use, the cap may be attached to the latter to isolate the writing applicator from the surrounding atmosphere and to prevent or reduce vaporization of the writing liquid from a surface of the felt tip or other writing applicator. For household use, it is possible for consumer to attach such cap every time the marker is not used. On the other hand, when used for commercial purposes, it may be inconvenient for a user to remove and then to attach a cap every time a user wants to use a marker, particularly when the nature of the job requires relatively frequent use of such marker. Moreover, frequent repeated operation of removing and replacing of a cap may result that the cumulative time spent by a user upon such operations increases substantially thus reducing productivity. In contrast, if a user decides to keep a marker uncapped from use to use in order to save time, a writing liquid from a liquid container would vaporize; because in most conventional markers the writing applicator is directly connected with the supply container and if left uncapped, the writing liquid freely vaporizes through the felt tip or other similar applicator capable to transmit direct communication between container with writing liquid and a writing surface through the process of moisturizing of the applicator.
Continuing efforts have been made in the past to improve a design of such markers to improve flow of ink and reduce evaporation and particularly in the mechanism through which the writing liquid may flow from a container or any other member that allows storage of such liquid to a writing surface. Most inventions employ valve mechanisms with bias means that allow a writing liquid to flow from a container with such liquid to a writing applicator. In many embodiments a depression of a writing end of a writing applicator upon a writing surface causes a valve to open allowing a flow of a liquid. A valve closure in such mechanisms provides sealing of a container through bias means usually incorporated into such sealing. Many prior art devices employ relatively complicated structure of the valve, very often consisting of several interrelated parts that require complex assembly, driving up cost of manufacturing of such markers. In the past, assembly of the prior art devices was a large issue due to the complexity of the prior arts internal mechanisms. The more intricate the internal mechanism of a marking device was the more it was expensive to produce such device. Prior art required hand assembly or intricate automated assembly method to assemble the devices. As the complexity of assembly increases, so does the cost to perform quality assurance to detect defective units and diagnose what caused those units to be defective. Therefore, the reduction of complexity and number of parts necessary to assemble a marking device will decrease the cost of such marker.
The purpose of a prior art was having a valve mechanism which controlled the flow of the liquid product contained in the marking device was so that a large amount of said marking liquid could be contained in the device without being exposed to air. The valve acts as a shield against exposure to air so that the unused liquid would not dry up inside of the device, thus rendering the device useless. In some prior art devices problems arise when the liquid dries up in the valve, thus causing the valve to malfunction allowing all of the liquid to escape or allowing air to enter the liquid reservoir and dry out the marking liquid. The current invention defines reasonably simple and inexpensive design for a valve mechanism of a marker that allows easy assembly and completely refillable.